New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) is hitting back after President Donald Trump called his city a “ghost town.”
The president referred to the city as a “ghost town” over government shutdowns during the last presidential debate on Thursday night.
In response, de Blasio was asked on MSNBC on Friday where “New York City stands now” with the challenges from the coronavirus pandemic, the economy, and how the city can “move forward,” as Mika Brzezinski put it.
De Blasio said New York City is “fighting back” — the city was once the epicenter of the coronavirus. He added that it is “going to be a long road” but “New Yorkers are proving this vibrant city is going to come back.”
De Blasio continued to take aim at the president, “The only ghost town is going to be Mar-a-Lago after this election when Donald Trump is forced into retirement there.”
“This is just a pitiful attempt by the president to undermine the notion that everyday people are going to fight back this disease because he failed to. He’s literally putting the burden…on the people that are suffering but are still fighting back, rather than acknowledging his responsiblity.”
Watch de Blasio’s interview below:
NYC Mayor de Blasio on Pres. Trump calling the city a “ghost town” during the presidential debate:
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) October 23, 2020
“The only ghost town is going to be Mar-a-lago after this election when Donald Trump is forced into retirement there.” pic.twitter.com/7TwrWgeeBh
Trump claimed during the debate held in Nashville, Tenn., on Thursday night that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden would “close down the country” due to COVID-19 if elected. However, the former vice president said that is “simply not true.”
The president later added about New York City’s shutdowns during the pandemic, “If you go and look at what has happened to New York, it’s a ghost town. Take a look at what’s happening to New York. It’s dying.”
He added, “When you talk about plexiglass, these are restaurants that are dying. These are businesses with no money. Putting up plexiglass is unbelievably expensive and it’s not the answer. I mean, you’re going to sit there in a cubicle wrapped with plastic? These are businesses that are dying Joe, you can’t do that to people.”
“Take a look at New York and what’s happened to my wonderful city. For so many years, I loved it, it was vibrant. It’s dying, everyone’s leaving New York.”
Biden pushed back, saying, “I don’t look at this in terms of the way he does, blue states and red states, they are all United States.”
See the exchange below:
An aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo appeared to respond to Trump’s comments, tweeting, “New York is shut down? News to me.”
The state of New York saw a high of 12,274 reported COVID-19 cases on April 4. Since late April, the state has seen a decrease in cases. However, there has been an average 1,534 cases per day over the past week compared to the two weeks prior, according to The New York Times.
